title: Bipolar disorder and medication: adherence, patients' knowledge and serum monitoring of lithium carbonate.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  this study featured patients with affective bipolar disorder who were making use of lithium and received care at an outpatient care center located in a country town in the state of Sao Paulo in 2009; it assessed the adherence and knowledge of these patients in relation to the medication prescribed to them and verified the proportion of blood tests performed per year in the service, for each individual, to measure lithium levels in the blood.
  
  
  METHODS
  descriptive study with quantitative approach, involving 36 participants. Structured interviews and review of medical records were used for data collection and descriptive statistics for data analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  difficulties in reporting the dosage of the medication prescribed and a high rate of non-adherence were identified among the participants. None of the participants in the study was submitted to two tests a year to measure lithium levels in the blood, which is the minimum proportion of tests recommended by the literature for maintenance treatment using lithium carbonate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  this study highlights the critical factors for the promotion of patients' safety in monitoring lithium drug therapy.
authors.affiliation: Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Camila
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.forename: Kelly Graziani Giacchero
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Vedana
authors.forename: Bruna Paiva do Carmo
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Mercedes
authors.forename: Adriana Inocenti
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Miasso
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016903:Drug Monitoring; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016651:Lithium Carbonate / Q000097:blood* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D016651:Lithium Carbonate